Iron and Longships, A Vinland TL

[Detlef]

@Detlef: A larger population is only necessary if there’s a crapload of work to be done right now. There isn’t, because I can guarantee you the first merchant who shows up doesn’t have very much money to pay his wood-choppers with. Once he starts making money, more unemployed locals will start chopping wood and bringing it to Mr. Merchant to sell. The colony would do best as simply a trading post and a safe harbor.

The locals know the paths around Vinland, while the Vikings know the sea route to Vinland. You can guess what people will do.

Historically, the Vinland colonists refused to sell iron weapons to the locals. The imports to Vinland would likely be food, animals, artisanal goods, and precious metals.

The original colonies were small: if they were prosperous, I doubt they would need large Viking populations. Likely a lot of mixed-race people in the second generation.

Vinland regardless would be seen as an outpost, a shithole at the edge of Viking influence, a bit like how Rome felt about England. I bet they would go to Iceland, as it’s closer to home.

Hmm, I´m not an expert for that time period so I may be totally wrong here?

Fishing would be good in Iceland but the farmland isn´t that good.
A TV documentary I saw some time ago mentioned serious problems with wind erosion. Apparently without ground "cover" (plants, trees whose roots "fix" the soil) the relatively thin layer of fertile soil will be blown away.
Such a thin layer might explain the "marginal" farmland mentioned in some articles. Too much grazing by farm animals might destroy the ground cover too leaving barren land behind (the TV documentary showed some areas where replanting efforts were going on). Not sure how large trees could become in such conditions?

Vinland would offer much better farmland, good fishing, abundant timber. If Vikings were willing to settle in Greenland why not go a bit further? Especially when a man or family could build a much more prosperous farm there than in Iceland or Greenland (or much of Scandinavia itself)?
I seem to remember that once the Vikings conquered some parts of the British isles, a second wave of settlers came? Attracted by the promise of a more prosperous future?

Why shouldn´t the same happen with Vinland?
Mind you, I´m not talking about thousands of new settlers at once.
Just a steady trickle over the years once the news reach Greenland / Iceland / Scandinavia. Some years maybe only some 3th sons traveling on the trade ships to Iceland -> Greenland -> Vinland. In other years maybe some families with their own ship(s).

And staying closer to home?
Sure, in Iceland they might hear more general news about Scandinavia. But a family would be lucky if a traveler / trader might have some news about their families / region from back "home".

Per the TL we already got close to 2000 Viking males and several hundred females in Vinland (3 settlements). More females are definitely needed.

Farmers, fishers, hunters and wood-cutters. Plus some "explorers".
Given the numbers I also expect some blacksmiths, carpenters and shipbuilders soon starting their specialized trade. Plus of course merchants trading with Greenland and maybe Iceland.

Vinland could export timber, pelts, animal skins and dried or salted cod. Once they get more farms going they could even export some grain.
Imports would be farm animals initially (cows, pigs, sheep mainly. Maybe chicken, geese, ducks?) until they got enough to be self sustaining. Hopefully some ponies / horses from Iceland? And of course metals (iron, copper and the like) for now. Until they discover ore deposits in Vinland.
In case of food they already produce grain, they have fishing and hunting. Once they got their farm animals (milk, cheese) they only need some vegetables and fruit to have a pretty balanced diet. Some seeds / seedlings (cabbage, apple trees and the like)?
Oh, and flax seeds / seedlings (linen, linseed oil)l?
Or if the "Three Sisters" (maize, beans, squash) already exist in North America, they might stumble across it?
Pottery for now might be an import too.

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Hmm, I´m not an expert for that time period so I may be totally wrong here?

Fishing would be good in Iceland but the farmland isn´t that good.
A TV documentary I saw some time ago mentioned serious problems with wind erosion. Apparently without ground "cover" (plants, trees whose roots "fix" the soil) the relatively thin layer of fertile soil will be blown away.
Such a thin layer might explain the "marginal" farmland mentioned in some articles. Too much grazing by farm animals might destroy the ground cover too leaving barren land behind (the TV documentary showed some areas where replanting efforts were going on). Not sure how large trees could become in such conditions?

In Iceland, good agricultural land is where you can graze cattle.
Even in the Mediaeval Warm Period (up to ~1300) Iceland only grew enough barley for beer - and since they did eat some, they had to import grain.

Iceland was the only place in mediaeval Europe where meat and flour were the same price. Most places, meat was FAR more expensive.

Vinland would offer much better farmland, good fishing, abundant timber. If Vikings were willing to settle in Greenland why not go a bit further? Especially when a man or family could build a much more prosperous farm there than in Iceland or Greenland (or much of Scandinavia itself)?
I seem to remember that once the Vikings conquered some parts of the British isles, a second wave of settlers came? Attracted by the promise of a more prosperous future?

Why shouldn´t the same happen with Vinland?
Mind you, I´m not talking about thousands of new settlers at once.
Just a steady trickle over the years once the news reach Greenland / Iceland / Scandinavia. Some years maybe only some 3th sons traveling on the trade ships to Iceland -> Greenland -> Vinland. In other years maybe some families with their own ship(s).

And staying closer to home?
Sure, in Iceland they might hear more general news about Scandinavia. But a family would be lucky if a traveler / trader might have some news about their families / region from back "home".

Per the TL we already got close to 2000 Viking males and several hundred females in Vinland (3 settlements). More females are definitely needed.

Farmers, fishers, hunters and wood-cutters. Plus some "explorers".
Given the numbers I also expect some blacksmiths, carpenters and shipbuilders soon starting their specialized trade. Plus of course merchants trading with Greenland and maybe Iceland.

Note that in this period, there ARE no specialized trades in Iceland in the way we recognize them. Yes, they'll get some shipwrights from Europe, but every farm did its own smithing.

Vinland could export timber, pelts, animal skins and dried or salted cod. Once they get more farms going they could even export some grain.

No market for salt cod yet. That doesn't happen for a couple of hundred years.
Grain exports to Iceland, sure, as long as Iceland has something to sell. But once Vinland gets established, what DOES Iceland have to sell?

Imports would be farm animals initially (cows, pigs, sheep mainly. Maybe chicken, geese, ducks?) until they got enough to be self sustaining. Hopefully some ponies / horses from Iceland? And of course metals (iron, copper and the like) for now. Until they discover ore deposits in Vinland.

Cows and sheep are available in Iceland, and would be brought over early. iOTL, there Thorfinns Karlsefnis expedition had one.

Horses would be really early too.

Pigs would have to come from continental Europe. That'll take longer.

No need to import iron, at least. Icelanders know how to work bog iron, and there's lots of that in the initial Vinland. No need for ore deposits, at first, at least.

In case of food they already produce grain, they have fishing and hunting. Once they got their farm animals (milk, cheese) they only need some vegetables and fruit to have a pretty balanced diet. Some seeds / seedlings (cabbage, apple trees and the like)?
Oh, and flax seeds / seedlings (linen, linseed oil)l?
Or if the "Three Sisters" (maize, beans, squash) already exist in North America, they might stumble across it?
Pottery for now might be an import too.

Flax, definitely.
Apples and many of the other vegetables might have to come from Europe.

Why on earth would they want to import pottery? Pottery is something that almost every tribe in North America already used. Why would Vinlanders be less competent?

3 sisters are in use, but haven't made it that far north yet.

There are contentious dates on corn, e.g., in Iroquoian lands, but while individual cobs can be dated to about the time of Vinland, the pollen data suggests strongly that it wasn't regularly grown until ~1300. And that's in southern Ontario/northern New York. Still, Norse explorers would make it to the Mississippian cultures soonish, and they DO have corn, at least.

 

[Winnabago]

@Detlef: You’re totally right about Vinland’s potential, but it’s like citing America’s potential when referring to the Jamestown settlement, only here it’s much colder (shorter growing season), more trees (harder to develop the land), likely non-agricultural natives (so you can’t build on their developments), and a smaller, less united body of population to get settlers from.

All this spells “fortified trading post/port”, to spread Viking interests and a place for the natives to sell local products, as well as a pace of refuge in the event of crisis, as natives likely weren’t rich enough for prolonged sieges. There’s neither a need nor an ability to actually settle the area.

If settlers did show up, many of them would likely die from ambushes, as the climate simply isn’t suited for Viking wars of expansion. Not enough ports, you see. It’s not really even worth conquering.

There is no problem with diet, from what I can see: the described wealth of Vinland (though it may be propaganda) means that the inhabitants would be pretty healthy.

However, there is potential here for a Viking trade network stretching into the Great Lakes, where the civilization you’re looking for could quite possibly flourish.

 

[Detlef]

In Iceland, good agricultural land is where you can graze cattle.
Even in the Mediaeval Warm Period (up to ~1300) Iceland only grew enough barley for beer - and since they did eat some, they had to import grain.

Iceland was the only place in mediaeval Europe where meat and flour were the same price. Most places, meat was FAR more expensive.

So the German TV documentary had things mostly right.
I did mention it because:
Well, if Vikings (and their families) were willing to settle in regions with only marginal farmland (Iceland, Greenland) then some of them - over the years, decades, centuries - probably will be willing to make a slightly longer voyage to Vinland.

Note that in this period, there ARE no specialized trades in Iceland in the way we recognize them. Yes, they'll get some shipwrights from Europe, but every farm did its own smithing.
No market for salt cod yet. That doesn't happen for a couple of hundred years.

Understood.
Hmm.
But with more than enough food produced (grain, fish etc.) wouldn´t specialization appear in Vinland? Unlike Iceland they have better than marginal farmlands?
Once a surplus of food is there, specialists could appear? Even using a barter system?

Grain exports to Iceland, sure, as long as Iceland has something to sell. But once Vinland gets established, what DOES Iceland have to sell?

Cows and sheep are available in Iceland, and would be brought over early. iOTL, there Thorfinns Karlsefnis expedition had one.

Horses would be really early too.

Pigs would have to come from continental Europe. That'll take longer.

No need to import iron, at least. Icelanders know how to work bog iron, and there's lots of that in the initial Vinland. No need for ore deposits, at first, at least.

I might be totally wrong here.
But I see Iceland mainly as the major trading partner with Vinland?
The (few) ships from Vinland on the one side trading mostly with Greenland and Iceland while traders from Iceland on the other side provide goods from Scandinavia and Europe? Exchanging goods either in Greenland or Iceland?
It would shorten the travel times for ships from Vinland?

Flax, definitely.
Apples and many of the other vegetables might have to come from Europe.

Why on earth would they want to import pottery? Pottery is something that almost every tribe in North America already used. Why would Vinlanders be less competent?

3 sisters are in use, but haven't made it that far north yet.

There are contentious dates on corn, e.g., in Iroquoian lands, but while individual cobs can be dated to about the time of Vinland, the pollen data suggests strongly that it wasn't regularly grown until ~1300. And that's in southern Ontario/northern New York. Still, Norse explorers would make it to the Mississippian cultures soonish, and they DO have corn, at least.

Didn´t know about pottery in North America.
As I said I´m not an expert in that time period.
Assuming potter´s clay resources in Vinland they can start producing it themselves. Or trade for it locally.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Just a few questions:

Will Vinland come into contact with more southern native cultures?

Will the equivalent of the OTL Colombian exchange take place in the 11th century?

Will Christianity spread to natives outside of Vinland?

 

[Evilprodigy]

SKRAELING RELATIONS AND COLONIZATION

1003
Leif Eriksson returned to Greenland in spring of 1003 with the aims of getting more colonists for Vinland. When he returned he found that his father had died from his depression while Leif was off in Vinland. He mourns his father and takes up the rank of Paramount Chieftain of Greenland. Due to his position of running the colony Leif gets some bonuses and some drawbacks. For one he now is in charge of Greenland’s finances and can use that money to help support the Vinland colony and his own personal wealth and life. However because he needs to rule Greenland his days of exploration are now behind him.

Knowledge of Vinland never seems to leave the Greenland colony, when Leif was recruiting people in Niðarós, Iceland, and Roskilde he got people to believe him but word did not spread, as those who did believe him almost always left to go to the colony and not spread the word of its existence. It then became rather common for immigrants escaping overcrowding of Iceland who came to Greenland to end up taking an extra trip to Vinland, as trade became quite regular between Leifsbudir and Eystribyggð the traders that needed to go back to Vinland would regularly allow people to serve as cargo to keep the ship heavy enough to go, normally they would pay their dues on the boat by serving as extra oarsmen.

This cheap labour for Longboat rowers helped to facilitate more trade with the Vinland colony as ships could travel faster. The Vinland colony had had grown to almost 4,000 people by the end of 1003 and with Greenland being about 5,000 it was very well possible for Vinland to eclipse Greenland in importance but the lack of Iron in the colony hampered serious expansion and investment.

Relations with the Skraelingar in Vinland was typically good as the Beothuk started to immigrate into the colonies in ever larger numbers with the support of Jakob Thorirsson, the increase in the female population proved to be quite helpful for Vinland’s future growth. The colony in Terra Nova of Leifsburgh did not have the same relationship with the Skraeling there as these Skraeling spoke a different language than the Beothuk. Relations were ruined rather quickly when a local tribe tried to raid a wheat farm and ended up dead once local Vinlandic people came to kill them. Being Vikings almost every male owns some sort of weapon and is trained in its usage. An Iron axe can kill a Skraeling with ease, especially if the Vinlandic farmer has some sort of armour, as the Skraeling can’t pierce chainmail using wooden sticks, even if they are tipped with stones.

In retaliation to the raid on this homestead the Vinlandics there organized an opposing raid against the specific tribe, with so many dead from that tribe already and the differences in weaponry and armour they were obliterated within a few hours and all the remaining Skraeling taken as Thralls, slaves, or wives. This type of thing became quite common in the area around Leifsburgh to the point of undeclared war. In Leifsdubir or Thorgilston this kind of thing would have destroyed the economies that relied quite a bit on Skraeling trade for lumber and furs. But in Leifsburgh it didn’t affect their economy much since they typically traded with other colonies and not the Skraeling, in fact it might have helped them as more land became open to settlement and colonization.

Skraeling relations for Vinland will be quite varied depending on where you are it seems. Although contact and small scale trade with Skraelingar in Markland might prove useful and if Leifsburgh is any indication than going south to build more farming communities could be a great boon to the Vinland Colony.

 

[Evilprodigy]

Just a few questions:

Will Vinland come into contact with more southern native cultures?

Will the equivalent of the OTL Colombian exchange take place in the 11th century?

Will Christianity spread to natives outside of Vinland?

Yes, if Vinland keeps moving south it is inevitable.

It is already occurring to a small degree.

I'll need to think about that, as of now I don't know.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Yes, if Vinland keeps moving south it is inevitable.

It is already occurring to a small degree.

I'll need to think about that, as of now I don't know.

Cool, this could be a good TL.

 

[Evilprodigy]

JAKOBSBURGH

1003
Jakob Thorirsson had led the most unique life of any Skraeling that had ever existed. As of 1003 he had married another Skraeling that immigrated into Thorgilston, whose new Christian name was Fríða, and they had a son they named J[FONT=&quot]ón Jakobsson. Jakob had been running diplomatic missions with tribes all across the island of Vinland in order to promote trade with them and increase the economic standing of the Vinland colonies. By 1003 he had gotten extremely bored with his position and was annoyed by having to keep traveling between Thorgilston and Leifsdubir. To make the task far less hard on him he took several Skraeling men and taught them how to be diplomats for Vinland by teaching them how to bargain as well as the Norse language. After two years of teaching them Jakob founded the office for Skraeling relations at the behest of Leif Eriksson (at this time still in in Leifsburgh) that coordinated diplomatic and trade relations with all Skraeling in the Vinland colony, who were starting die at an alarming rate from several diseases they had never known before.[/FONT]

1005
Jakob found his job as running the office to be boring as well and gave up his position to one of the Skraeling that he had taught diplomacy to. Jakob lived quietly with his family and had another child, a daughter named Maria Jakobsdottir. Jakob was happy and content living with his family but due to Leif Eriksson’s inability to return to Vinland due to his position of Paramount Chieftain Jakob took up the mantle of explorer and colonizer. His first expedition was to found a new colony in Terra Nova’s southern area but he got blown far off course. He ended up landing way off track of his original destination and when he finally hit land he was further south than anyone in Vinland had ever been, and it was December.

1006
The winter months were horrible, about 80% of the people he brought with him died from the cold and isolation as no one knew where they were so the only thing they could do was hunt to survive. To them though it was a milder winter than any had experienced but it was still a winter. By mid-February almost everyone wanted to kill Jakob for bringing them all there but he was doing a decent enough job keeping them alive. Once the snow started to melt and it started to warm up the men that were left got to work building a proper settlement while Jakob left to go back to Thorgilston to get supplies. When he returned he explained what had happened to his wife and the settlement’s Thegn Thorgil Leifsson. Due to his past importance to the colony and his personal friendship with the Thegn (who is Leif Eriksson’s second son) Jakob was not punished but he was told that since he founded a new colony he needed to build it up. So Jakob did and he returned to the settlement that he named Jakobsburgh, the settlement was situated along a rather large river that created a natural harbour to the Ocean and was situated in rather fertile farming land (OTL Halifax). Jakob brought with him large amounts of foodstuffs to keep the people left in Jakobsburgh alive and farming rather than hunting and gathering. By the time harvest rolled around the settlement was deemed as a success due to the size of the yield despite the terrible start to it.

1007
Jakob returned to Thorgilston when his son J[FONT=&quot]ón turned 3. When he was there he grabbed his family and brought them to Jakobsburgh so that he could always be with them. This turned out to be a terrible idea as his daughter died in the voyage and his son almost did as well. When they arrived his wife Fríða was in terrible shape and had to always be with their son so that he would survive. The little guy did survive and Fríða bore another daughter they named Maria Jakobsdottir in honour of their deceased first daughter. By harvest time of 1007 Jakobsburgh was populated with 300 people and the Vinland colony in total was 6,500 people.[/FONT]

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

nice update.

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Relations with the Skraelingar in Vinland was typically good as the Beothuk started to immigrate into the colonies in ever larger numbers with the support of Jakob Thorirsson, the increase in the female population proved to be quite helpful for Vinland’s future growth. The colony in Terra Nova of Leifsburgh did not have the same relationship with the Skraeling there as these Skraeling spoke a different language than the Beothuk.
...
This type of thing became quite common in the area around Leifsburgh to the point of undeclared war. In Leifsdubir or Thorgilston this kind of thing would have destroyed the economies that relied quite a bit on Skraeling trade for lumber and furs. .

Jakob exists as a name this early, but is very rare.

You also have the patronymic wrong. "Þorir" (Thorir) is the nominative singular form. Þoris is the genitive. (the "r" ending is directly equivalent to Latin "us" or Greek "os") So, he'd be Jakob Thorisson.

Your settlement names are a problem, for various reasons.

Firstly, Iceland, where most of the people come from had no towns at this point. It was, in fact, illegal to build one! "Leifsbuðir" is literally "Leif's booths/cabins/huts".

Now, it is true that in Vinland, settlements may well be more compact for self-defense, and may well form towns, but they aren't going to be called "towns", almost certainly.

"Burgh" and "ton" are Anglo-Saxon, not Norse, and look very, very strange in context.

A lot of modern Icelandic towns have names ending in "-staðir" which means farm, and is directly equivalent to the English "-stead" (which also gives rise to a number of English town names).

Look at a map of Iceland. You have lots of "-vik" (bay), "-nes" (peninsula), "-fjörður" (-fjord), "-bær" and "-staðir" (both meaning -farm), you have nothing that proclaims itself a town or city.

 

[Evilprodigy]

Jakob exists as a name this early, but is very rare.

You also have the patronymic wrong. "Þorir" (Thorir) is the nominative singular form. Þoris is the genitive. (the "r" ending is directly equivalent to Latin "us" or Greek "os") So, he'd be Jakob Thorisson.

Your settlement names are a problem, for various reasons.

Firstly, Iceland, where most of the people come from had no towns at this point. It was, in fact, illegal to build one! "Leifsbuðir" is literally "Leif's booths/cabins/huts".

Now, it is true that in Vinland, settlements may well be more compact for self-defense, and may well form towns, but they aren't going to be called "towns", almost certainly.

"Burgh" and "ton" are Anglo-Saxon, not Norse, and look very, very strange in context.

A lot of modern Icelandic towns have names ending in "-staðir" which means farm, and is directly equivalent to the English "-stead" (which also gives rise to a number of English town names).

Look at a map of Iceland. You have lots of "-vik" (bay), "-nes" (peninsula), "-fjörður" (-fjord), "-bær" and "-staðir" (both meaning -farm), you have nothing that proclaims itself a town or city.

Interesting, my research seems to have been off about naming conventions and the "-burgh" or "-ton" thing. What I had read stated that the Anglo-Saxons got those names from the Norse.

I'll revisit the names in my word docs, come up with some better stuff. I did always wonder why it was called Leifsbudir, since to be 'booth' is the thing that you sell lemonade out of.

Using what you have just stated would the following replacement names be more accurate?
Leifsburgh - Leifsstaðir (or would it be one 's'?), since it's a farming settlement
Jakobsburgh - Jakobsstaðir, same questions as a above
Thorgilston - Thorgilsvik, since the area of St. Johns is in a bay.

 

[Petike]

Subscribed. Keep it up, don't let it die.

 

[pike]

Been watch from the side line for a while and this TL has really piked my curiosity.

In terms of how Viking long boats will evolve with the great new wood they has discovered in the new world and the near continuous shipping of new world good to the old world. This is a very interesting topic the has already touched on briefly in this TL and its really making my head spin trying to imagine a Viking cargo ships made out of new world wood. These combined factors and bigger faster ships of war that are being built will no doubt extend extend Viking domination of the seas past the medieval warming period.

Most interestingly will be the formation of the Kalmar Union will be in this TL with the extra wealth from the new world coming in to scandinavia.

The drain on Viking settlers from other Viking territories who decide to set up in Vinland instead of else were in Europe. Lesser Viking settlement of
Europe and more raids?

Subscribed.

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Interesting, my research seems to have been off about naming conventions and the "-burgh" or "-ton" thing. What I had read stated that the Anglo-Saxons got those names from the Norse.

I'll revisit the names in my word docs, come up with some better stuff. I did always wonder why it was called Leifsbudir, since to be 'booth' is the thing that you sell lemonade out of.

Exactly, a búð (long u, missed that first time round) is a booth, a temporary dwelling. Leif came, set up huts, left. Thorfinn came, tried making a settlement.

Using what you have just stated would the following replacement names be more accurate?
Leifsburgh - Leifsstaðir (or would it be one 's'?), since it's a farming settlement
Jakobsburgh - Jakobsstaðir, same questions as a above
Thorgilston - Thorgilsvik, since the area of St. Johns is in a bay.

Yes, you'd have two s's there (for the first one at least).

Since Jakob is a foreign name it MIGHT be indeclinable. Aha!, no, I've found references to "Jakobsland" (Santiago de Compostella), "Jakobsmessa" (mass for (feast of?) St. James). So, yes "Jakobsstaðir"

And if we're being picky, "vík" is a long vowel (with the accent mark). Ja, I messed up on that. Sorry.


The other word you could use for a 'settlement' is bygð

bygð thus denotes the dwellings and the whole cultivated neighbourhood; thus in old Greenland there was Eystri and Vestri bygð, the Eastern and Western colony, and úbygðir, deserts, viz. the whole Eastern side of this polar land,

(that dictionary is online at http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/texts/oi_cleasbyvigfusson_about.html) Of course, it only is Icelandic-English, but if you have a clue on the spelling, you can go and get the correct form.

 

[Evilprodigy]

RELIGION AND CULTURE

1007
These people are Vikings, and Vikings kill things. However the violence of Vikking culture in Vinland was less pronounced in the Vinland colonies of Leifsbudir and Thorgilsvik since so much of their economy relied on trade. Go further south to Jakobsstaðir and Leifsstaðir… well then you got Viking raids a plenty. Coincidentally there are also the locations with the largest concentrations of the Pagan Norse religion. Christianization of the Norse had been going along for a while but it was always a slow process as the old indigenous traditions that had provided security and structure were challenged by ideas that were unfamiliar, such as original sin, the Incarnation, and the Trinity. The violent culture was exploited by showing Jesus as a warrior, particularly images of a “Victorious Christ” that had been showing up in Germanic art during the time. The Book of Revelation, which presents Christ as victor over Satan, played a central part in the spread of Christianity among the Vikings. This was the exact same thing in Vinland as Christians kept trying to convert the Pagan Norse and Skraelingar.

The first Christian churches in Vinland were built out of wood in Leifsbudir and Thorgilsvik at around the same time. The priests that came over were typically subservient to Skálaholt but maintained little contact and preferred to act independently of the Pope and his Bishops. With this came local forms of Vinladic Christianity that adopted some local and Pagan Norse beliefs. In particular Jesus as a warrior became the standard around Vinland and violence was a central part of the religion there.

The Pagans in Vinland were everywhere in the southern colonies of Jakobsstaðir and Leifsstaðir. Whether it was the Skraeling or the Norse they were everywhere and Christianity had little influence in these places. Although this was typically seen as a problem, legally speaking Vinland is part of Norway which is a Christian country as their older king, Olaf I Tryggvasson, proved with his brutal methods of converting the population to Christianity. The new king, Sweyn I Forkbeard, who is also the king of Denmark kept the whole “Norway is Christian” thing but didn’t actively try to convert anyone, at least not on the same scale as the old king. So therefore, legally speaking, Vinland is part of a Christian country. Christians used this as a sense of entitlement to go out and convert the Pagans

Even in Jakobsstaðir and Leifsstaðir they kept this sense of entitlement and continued their conversions. The continuing mass deaths of the Skraeling population was used as rhetoric by the Christian missionaries that their god was better than the Skraeling gods. Pagan Norse beliefs typically did not spread as they normally had no desire to expand their religion unlike the Christians. As such the only reason that Norse beliefs stayed so strong in Vinland was because of the continuing immigration by people who followed the Norse beliefs.

Violence was extremely important to the culture in Vinland, as stated earlier. Iron weaponry in Vinland was still rather expensive but still most families owned at the bare minimum some sort of Axe for chopping wood or for fighting. Vinland had no professional army or even a system of conscription. Hell it didn’t even have a militia. Vinlandic people though typically organized raids against Skraelingar in the countryside to take women for wives and men and children for thralls.

Serfdom in Vinland was a strange condition as technically speaking the only lords in the colony were the Thegns in the urban centers of Vinland, and even then they were minor lords. Thralls became a standard that any immigrant to Vinland could get at least 2 or 3 after some raiding for use on a farm they set up in the southern colonies. Even then noble houses were slowly being established by accomplished warriors who took many Thralls to establish farming communities run almost entirely by Skraelingar. This led to some strange instances as the Skraeling were still being killed by what was eventually deduced as smallpox. The almost 100% Skraeling farming communities normally didn’t survive so the ‘nobility’ would appoint men of merit to work under them with the express purpose of having sex with all the female Skraeling they got so they could produce a workforce that didn’t die, as typically children of Skraeling and Norsemen would survive due to establish knowledge of what happens when they intermarry.

Also a note, the map I am posting is the same as last updates since this is the same year. I am just posting a map every update and continuing with that.

 

[King Nazar]

Nice update

What percentage of Vinland's population converted to Christianity?

 

[Evilprodigy]

Nice update

What percentage of Vinland's population converted to Christianity?

The statistics are probably set something like:
50% Norse
20% Native
30% Christian

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

I imagine that eventually Vinland will become independent, but anyway a question, will other Viking nations (Denmark, Sweden etc.) set up their own colonies in the New world?

 

[Evilprodigy]

I imagine that eventually Vinland will become independent, but anyway a question, will other Viking nations (Denmark, Sweden etc.) set up their own colonies in the New world?

It isn't exactly possible for them to do that right now.
The only way colonists are coming to Vinland is via Greenland, which is close buy, and the only way to get to Greenland is to go to Iceland.
If someone wants to colonize Vinland they would need to take Iceland and Greenland before they can even think about getting to Vinland.

Once the technology comes around for crossing the ocean though in the late 1400's that is a different story.